Frugal football
A narrow victory over Spain earned Brazil a fourth football World Youth Championship
Brazilians celebrate their 1-0 victory over Spain in the final of the World Youth Championship in Abu Dhabi
(photo: AFP)
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Brazil won the World Youth Championship for the fourth time, beating 10-man Spain 1-0 on a header by substitute Fernandinho. In the third-place game, Colombia defeated defending champion Argentina 2-1. With three of the four countries left in the end, South America dominated the competition. But, as Nashwa Abdel-Tawab writes, the tournament featured little imagination
Minutes after Fernandinho's 87th-minute clincher, off a corner kick from teammate Daniel, he was sent off for receiving his second yellow card in two games. But Brazil played down the clock to defeat the brave Spanish team, which played with 10 men from the fourth minute after Italian referee Roberto Rosetti issued a red card against defender Melli.
Melli dragged down Brazilian striker Nilmar, who was streaming towards the Spanish goal and set to pounce on a long pass from teammate Daniel Carvalho.
"We are happy with the win but it was not our best performance of the tournament," Brazil coach Marcos Paqueta said. "I expected more from Brazil after the expulsion (of Melli), but when we play against a team with 10 players we tend to have some difficulties."
With the 55,000-strong crowd in the UAE expecting Brazil to exploit its advantage, the Spaniards upped their defensive work rate and constantly harried their South American opponents. When in possession, Spain's midfield, led by FC Barcelona's Iniesta and Atletico Madrid's Gabi, was fast on the break and created many scoring opportunities.
The victory tied Brazil with Argentina for the most world under-20 championships in its 26-year history. The South Americans' grip on the world under-20 title -- Brazil or Argentina have now won the last six events since 1993 -- did not seem to be loosening any time soon.
"The South American school is a very high level because there are excellent clubs that develop players to play with lots of skill," Brazilian star Dudu said. "And even in very tough and physical situations, teams like Brazil can still manage to succeed."
Brazil and Spain went into the final making one change each to their lineups, after respective semi- final wins against Argentina and Colombia.
Colombia, which finished best-ever third, won the fair play award for the championship. On the other hand, no African team reached the quarter-finals, and European football powers such as Germany and England also failed to impress. Mexico also uncharacteristically underperformed.
At the cup, most teams played tactically and defensively, and dangerous players were marked heavily, putting a premium on goals.
"What is happening now is that there is a more technical approach being taken to play the game by teams who are playing much more carefully," Argentina coach Hugo Tocalli said Friday after his side finished fourth. "Teams are not playing as open as they did 10 years ago." Brazil's Paqueta agreed. "Practical football" had taken over "the beautiful things because they don't always produce results."
Yet the tournament was a success for the United States, which showcased 14-year-old dynamo Freddy Adu, the youngest person ever to play in the US Under-20 side, and teammate Ed Johnson, who received the Golden Boot and became the first American to win the scoring title in a FIFA men's tournament.
Johnson and Argentina's Fernando Cavenaghi and Brazil's Dudu scored four goals each, but Johnson won the Golden Boot on the first tiebreaker, with one assist to none for the others.
Brazil scored the most goals in one game -- five against Japan in the quarter-finals -- and had two players -- Dudu and Daniel -- adjudged the tournament's second and third best players respectively behind surprise winner Ismail Mattar, the captain of host nation, the United Arab Emirates.
But goal scoring was not as much a feature of this tournament compared to the past, with most games decided by narrow margins and tight defensive play.
That gave the greater experience of players from full-time soccer nations such as Argentina and Brazil the edge during the tournament, when those teams won close games in pressure-cooker situations, scoring late in regulation time or with golden goals in extra time.
Argentina's thrilling 2-1 quarter-final win over the United States came after an equaliser scored with just seconds left on the clock in regulation, and then a golden-goal clincher.
African coaches put down their region's lack of playoff representation to a lack of funds and infrastructure available to develop their talent.
Mexico finished last in its group -- one of the tournament's weaker ones -- with only a point garnered against Ireland, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia.
England also finished last in its group behind Japan, Colombia and Egypt, and Premier League clubs Everton and Newcastle United were criticised for failing to release Wayne Rooney and Jermain Jenas respectively.
